1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of dental care devices, and more particularly to a dental floss applicator having a floss tensioner combined with a tongue scraper.
2. Description of the Related Art
Good oral hygiene requires daily flossing to clean areas between teeth that cannot be reached by brushing alone. Loose strands of dental floss can be used to accomplish this task, however this method can tend to be somewhat messy and gaps between back teeth can be hard to reach. Dental floss applicators can be used to improve the flossing process. Floss applicators are well known in the art and generally provide a handle with a piece of dental floss held under tension between the prongs of a fork proximate one end of the handle. Use of a floss applicator allows the user to floss without having to insert his or her hands into the mouth and makes it easy to reach back teeth.
Floss applicators may be of a single-use, disposable variety, or they may be reusable. One well known reusable applicator is the PHB Model P03H flosser manufactured by PHB Inc. of Osseo, Wis. This floss applicator is manufactured of polypropylene and includes a handle with a pair of floss supporting prongs spaced along the longitudinal centerline of the handle at one end and a floss tensioning mechanism at the other. This design has several disadvantages. First, the spacing of the floss prongs along the longitudinal centerline of the flosser makes it difficult to floss between the back teeth, as the corner of the user""s mouth interferes with the handle of the flosser. Second, the polypropylene material used in the construction of the flosser is not durable or heat resistant. The flosser is therefore easily broken and not autoclavable or dishwasher safe. Third, the PHB flosser and other currently available flossing tools come equipped with acrylic yarn floss which shreds easily when subjected to the repeated use of a short section of floss that occurs when using a flossing tool.
In recent years, the advantages of using a tongue scraper have become more widely known. Cleaning the tongue with a tongue scraper helps eliminate bacteria that cause bad breath and plaque. Regular tongue scraping can reduce oral bacteria by up to 400% versus normal brushing. A wide variety of tongue scrapers are available on the market. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 303,426 discloses a combined tongue scraper and dental flossing tool, however this device uses a single-edged tongue scraper blade and has no tensioning mechanism for the flossing tool. A double-edged tongue scraper blade is preferable to a single-edged blade because the two edges can be honed to different sharpnesses, allowing the user to clean his or her tongue in graduated steps, or to simply select an edge that meets the user""s individual taste.
It is apparent that there remains a need for a dental care device that includes a flossing tool, which is durable and easy to use, in combination with a double edged tongue scraper. Heretofore there has not been a dental care device available with the advantages and features of the present invention.
The current invention is a dental care device which combines a flossing tool for dispensing dental floss and holding a length of the floss under tension with a double edged tongue scraper. The dental care device includes a body with a handle portion having opposing ends and including a cavity having a bottom wall and upstanding sidewalls. A lid is hingedly connected to the body and selectively covers the cavity.
A floss fork connected to one end of the handle portion includes a pair of prongs extending outwardly from the handle portion. The prongs each have tips which are adapted to support a length of dental floss across the gap between the prongs. The prongs are oriented such that the floss supported by the prongs runs perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle.
The device includes a floss tensioner having a floss cog rotatably mounted in the cavity between the bottom wall and the lid. The floss cog has a ratchet wheel with a plurality of teeth and a spindle connected to said ratchet wheel which is adapted to retain a spool of dental floss. A ratchet pawl connected to the body selectively engages the ratchet wheel teeth, allowing the user to tighten the floss across the floss fork and selectively spool out a length of floss as needed.
The cavity of the handle portion includes a floss channel which extends from the floss tensioner to the floss fork and a tool storage compartment which is separated from the floss channel by a dividing wall. The tool storage compartment may be used to contain dental hygiene tools such as a microbrush and a pick which are used to remove food particles and plaque from proximal spaces and orthodontics.
The lid serves to retain the tools in the storage compartment as well as to retain the floss cog in position and to press the ratchet wheel against the pawl, causing the pawl to engage the ratchet wheel teeth. The lid is preferably transparent so that the user can see how much floss remains on the floss cog without opening the lid.
The tongue scraper is attached to the end of the handle portion opposite the floss fork and includes a semicircular blade having opposing edges. Each end of the blade is connected to the body by a mounting arm. The edges of the tongue scraper blade are formed so that one of the edges is sharper than the other.
The body and lid of the dental care device are molded of polycarbonate which is strong, durable, and heat resistant, making the device autoclavable and dishwasher safe.
The principal objects and advantages of the present invention include: providing a dental care device having a floss holder and a tongue scraper; providing such a device which is comfortable and easy to use; providing such a device which includes a floss tensioner which allows the user to accurately and easily control the tension on the floss; providing such a device which is autoclavable and dishwasher safe; providing such a device which includes a storage compartment for small dental hygiene tools; providing such a device wherein the tongue scraper includes a double-edged blade with the edges having different sharpnesses; providing such a device which is adapted for use with polytetrafluorethylene floss; and providing such a device which is economical to manufacture, capable of a long operating life and particularly well-adapted for the proposed usage thereof.